It is customary for tapes of this nature to have a reinforcing fabric of spun cotton, rayon, or synthetic yarns, which provide strength to the tape in processing and in use. Such a fabric, when woven, normally varies in count from 32 to 44 warp yarns and 20 to 36 filling yarns per square inch, with the yarns 30's singles, of spun cotton.
Such fabrics have more than adequate strength for the reinforcement of such tapes, and for the sake of economy attempts have been made to utilize gauze fabrics of lower count, such as 24.times.20 or 20.times.12. However, in applications involving the use of the tape, it is customary to tear the tape across the warp yarns by hand, particularly when a number of repeated applications are made as in sealing the joints in industrial ductwork. When tapes containing a low-count gauze, are thus used, they almost invariably tear in a ragged and frayed manner, with dangling threads and the likelihood of deformation of the film backing.
Attempts have been made to improve the tear characteristics of tapes comprising low-count fabrics by using stronger yarns in the filling, such as high-twist spun yarns, continuous filament synthetic yarns, or even monofilament yarns, all with a marked lack of success.
It is with improvements in the tear properties of such tapes that the present invention is concerned, and it is an object of the invention to provide an adhesive tape incorporating a low-count fabric which when torn crosswise by hand will tear in a smooth and even manner.